Sources: Kyrie Irving Threatened to Sit Out 2017 Season if Cleveland Didn’t Trade Him

[Kyrie] Irving’s desire and request to leave the Cavs last summer are well documented. Wanting to leave LeBron James’ shadow and the culture James dominated in Cleveland, upset that former general manager David Griffin was gone and miffed that the Cavs considered trading him to Indiana for Paul George, Irving asked owner Dan Gilbert to trade him.

Gilbert didn’t have to honor the request, though, as Irving had two years left on his contract. But according to multiple sources, Irving threatened to sit out the season and have surgery on his knee, convincing Gilbert and Cleveland’s front office that the relationship was not salvageable.

Irving’s agent, Jeff Wechsler, declined to discuss what was said to the Cavs with cleveland.com, and Gilbert did not personally respond to a request seeking comment.

The Cavs do not regret trading Irving (because he didn’t want to be here) nor do they regret trading him to Boston, and are otherwise refusing to address the past as they try to maximize this season and the future, they said.

Report: Jimmy Butler Targeting Return Before End of Season

Jimmy Butler could return to the court for the Minnesota Timberwolves before the end of the regular season, if he continues to stay on track with his rehabilitation from surgery on his right knee.

“I can’t give you the exact date, but I want to come back and I want to help,” said Butler, who sat courtside during the 129-120 loss Sunday to the Rockets in his first appearance on the bench since he was hurt.

“I have a little bit of time left, but I know my guys are going to stick this thing out and do what they’ve been doing, keep us in this race,” Butler said. “And when I come back, we’ll see what we have left in the tank.”

“I just want to play. I feel like I’ve done this long enough to know that I can still go out there and make something happen,” Butler said. “Now, I promise you I’ll be out of shape. I promise you that. But just getting out there and getting back in a rhythm of things, that’s going to come natural.”

Danny Ainge: Gordon Hayward Setback ‘blown out of proportion’

Reports of Gordon Hayward’s setback may have been greatly exaggerated. This according to the self-confessed exaggerator, who says now he was mistaken in his choice of words.

“You know what? Sometimes I talk too much,” said [Danny] Ainge. “‘Setback’ wasn’t the right word, so let me rephrase that because it’s not exactly true to say it — or say it that way.

“What happened is he went on the AlterG [anti-gravity treadmill] the first day and he felt some soreness. It was the first day he tried the AlterG, a long time ago. He just wasn’t ready for it at that point. That’s all it was.

“So I think ‘setback’ is the wrong way to put it. I misphrased that. I’m not sure what the right word is, but he wasn’t ready for that. So we waited a couple of weeks before we started that again, and since we started that again it’s been great and he’s progressed along on the AlterG. That’s all. It wasn’t like he had an accident or anything like that.

“I used the word ‘setback,’ and it became a headline. Like, ‘Oh, setback.’ It got blown out of proportion. It’s my fault. I’m not blaming anybody. ‘Setback’ was probably too strong of a word.”